When I drive by Dolce or look at aerial photos of the property, I see trees. When I look at the conceptual drawings of the water park, I see what must be acres of buildings and blacktop parking lot — a perfect design for an urban heat island. When I look at topographical maps, I see stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces onto a floodplain that is already overloaded.
I find it unconscionable that the trees at Dolce are apparently going to be sacrificed on the altar of commercialism. This is especially puzzling in a city that is so strict on tree removal by property owners.
The permit process includes determination of the “DBH” that in the extreme case requires calculating the square root of the sum of the squares of multiple measurements. Squares and square roots: remember? They are among the things we told our middle school math teachers we’d never use in real life. I guess we were wrong. But not as wrong as the proposed development.
When I think “hotel/waterpark,” I think minimum wage jobs, and find it surprising that anyone in this city would pursue another development based on that criterion.
When I hear people wax eloquent about property taxes and hotel/motel taxes, I do not hear the differential between what Dolce now pays and what the water park people claim will be paid. Nor do I hear of any secret sweetheart deals (compare, the movie studio) that might significantly reduce the amount of taxes that will be paid.
When I hear people say that we need not be worried about “unruly teens” because the development will cater to ages 2—12, I think words that even as euphemisms cannot appear in a family newspaper. I think the same words when I hear assurances that noise won’t be a problem and that traffic won’t be a problem.
In my opinion, the proposed water park complex offers nothing to Peachtree City except immediate blight and future problems. I am appalled at the political and legal maneuvering that will apparently bypass the Planning Commission and ignore the expressed wishes of the citizenry. I urge the City Council to reject this developer’s requests for rezoning and variances.
Paul Lentz
Peachtree City, Ga.
